INTRODUCTION
"Never again will a single
story be told as if it were the only one"
-Emiliano Zapata
When we create grassroots
research through surveys, oral histories and other projects
we counter the belief that there is only one side to the
story. Creating surveys can be an excellent tool to document
what is happening in our community, help us understand ourselves
better and let others get to know what is going down for
our people. When we document our experiences, we
honor our day-to-day reality as knowledge, while
creating a powerful and strategic tool to help bring us
closer to reaching our campaign goals and strengthening
the movement. Part of oppression is keeping information
and knowledge in the hands of the powerful. When we reclaim
research, we walk one step closer to achieving liberation.
What is participatory
research?
For research to be participatory means that
it is not only based on the experiences of the people affected
by oppression but also that it
is the people most directly affected that are intimately
involved in the research process. Surveys are
only one way of doing participatory research. Oral histories,
background research for designing murals, even target research
on companies can be participatory when you involve your
community in the process, use your own experience to define
the process and work collectively to create change.
A great example of participatory research
was a survey created by a community group in New York City
which had their membership, predominately immigrant domestic
workers, design and administer a survey on working conditions
of domestic workers in the city. The survey questions were
based on their own experiences as domestic workers and part
of a larger campaign led by the group to push for stronger
worker protections in labor legislation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The DataCenter has been fortunate to work
with community-based organizations that are committed to
developing participatory survey projects as a part of their
social justice campaigns. We would like to thank Ai-Jen
Poo, Erline Browne and everyone at CAAAV:
Organizing Asian Communities and Domestic
Workers United in New York City for giving us the opportunity
to learn from their fierce analysis, practice and unwavering
commitment to justice.
We would also like to thank Annette
Bernhardt, Senior Policy Analyst with the Brennan
Center for Justice at New York University; Richard Speiglman,
Research Program Director at the Public
Health Institute; and César López, Youth
Organizer with Movement Achieving Youth Activism (MAYA)
for taking the time to review this guide and offer feedback
and invaluable suggestions for making it more accessible
and relevant to the needs of community groups.
